A new report from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reveals that most people who die while migrating are not taking dangerous journeys purely out of choice, but out of desperation -- fleeing insecurity, conflict, disaster, and other humanitarian crises.

Since 2014, more than 52,000 people have died while trying to escape crisis-affected countries, IOM said on April 29.

That's nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of all migrant deaths recorded globally during this period, the organization highlighted. These reportedly include over 39,000 people who died within crisis zones, often while trapped in unsafe conditions, and more than 13,500 who died while trying to flee conflict or disaster. 

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Central Mediterranean remains the deadliest single migration route

"These numbers are a tragic reminder that people risk their lives when insecurity, lack of opportunity, and other pressures leave them with no safe or viable options at home," IOM Director General Amy Pope was quoted as saying in a statement.

"We must invest to create stability and opportunity within communities, so that migration is a choice, not a necessity. And when staying is no longer possible, we must work together to enable safe, legal, and orderly pathways that protect lives."

More than half (54 percent) of all recorded migrant deaths since 2014 occurred in or near countries affected by conflict or disaster, said the report. It cited as an example Afghanistan, where over 5,000 people have died in transit, including thousands who perished while fleeing the country following the 2021 political upheaval.

Another displaced community highlighted were the the Rohingya people from Myanmar. More than 3,100 people have died - many in shipwrecks or while crossing into Bangladesh, IOM said.

Meanwhile,  the central Mediterranean remains the deadliest single migration route worldwide, with nearly 25,000 people lost at sea, according to IOM. 

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A call for stronger global cooperation 

Despite the scale of the crisis, migrants are often overlooked in humanitarian planning, IOM explained. Needs assessments and aid appeals frequently fail to include targeted efforts to protect those on the move -- even though nearly one in four missing migrants came from a crisis-affected country, it said. 

"Too often, migrants fall through the cracks," Julia Black, coordinator of IOM's Missing Migrants Project and the report's author, was quoted as saying in the statement.

"And due to data gaps -- especially in war zones and disaster areas -- the true death toll is likely to be far higher than what we've recorded." 

IOM said it is urging states and humanitarian partners to work together to ensure migrants are not excluded from crisis responses. This means expanding legal pathways, improving access to aid and healthcare, and investing in data systems that can better track and protect those at risk, the agency concluded.